Ludhiana, January 7
The delegates of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) from India and Pakistan today called for “forgetting the past mistakes and looking towards a peaceful future” in the interest of the people of the two countries.

Imtiaz Alam, a SAFMA delegate from Pakistan, addresses a function organised by the Ludhiana chapter of SAFMA in Ludhiana on Saturday.
— Photo by Inderjeet Verma

All set for Maghi Mela
Muktsar, January 7
All arrangements had been made for the forthcoming Maghi Mela beginning next week in the city, stated the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Dalip Kumar, while interacting mediapersons here.

VIP visits leave police petrol station dry
Bathinda, January 7
The district police has run out of fuel for the second time in the past five months and its petrol station in the police lines is dry for the past over three weeks, thanks to a series of VVIP visits to the area in the past couple of months.

CD battles in the offing between SAD, Cong
Chandigarh, January 7
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is all set to use the latest technology against the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab and the Congress headed by Mrs Sonia Gandhi at the national level.

Lack of infrastructure at Rajasansi Airport
Chandigarh, January 7
The opening of the LoC and the increase in trade between India and Pakistan at Amritsar might have helped improve relations between the two countries, but it has, however, ended up giving the Customs and Central Excise Department sleepless nights.

General Samaj Party for restart of work on refinery project
Barnala, January 7
All-India General Samaj Party has threatened to stage a dharna again in front of Parliament in Delhi during the ensuing budget session of Parliament next month, if the work on the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Project at Bathinda did not
restart by then.

Capt Kanwaljit seeks judicial probe into custodial death
Derabassi, January 7
Training his guns on the Amarinder Singh government for its alleged failure to maintain law and order, the general secretary of the Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD) and former Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, today demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged custodial death of Gurmail Singh, a resident of Kakrali village, near here, in the custody of the Government Railway
Police (GRP) at Rajpura on January 4.

Guru Granth Sahib shifted to another gurdwara
Bathinda, January 7
Taking note of the “sacrilege” of Guru Granth Sahib at a local gurdwara, the Panj Pyaras from Takht Sri Damdama Sahib and its manager today shifted Guru Granth Sahib to another gurdwara.

Thein Dam union members acquitted
Pathankot, January 7
Mr Harinderjit Singh Tiwana, Judicial Magistrate (First-Class), today acquitted 11 activists of the Thein Dam Workers Union, including its president and general secretary, for obstructing public servants in discharge of duty.

Protest against emission of ash
Bathinda, January 7
A day after farmers from Siwia staged dharna against NFL’s proposal of ash dump site in their village, scores of activists of the Joint Action Committee today protested against the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant
(GNDTP) authorities over the emission of coal ash and subsequent environmental pollution.

Dental conference to be held in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, January 7
The 59th Indian Dental Conference will be organised by the Ludhiana branch of the Indian Dental Association from January 27 to 30 at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan here. Acording to Dr Bhagwant Singh, National President of IDA, Ludhiana, the conference would be held in the city after a gap of 10 years.

Village ponds being revived
Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur), January 7
The Department of Soil Conservation has initiated a programme to revive village ponds in the district. Under it Rs 25 lakh has been provided to the district by the state and Union Government.
Mr Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, while
talking to The Tribune said that initially about 200 village ponds in the rural
areas were being desilted. After desiltation, pucca boundaries would be raised
around the ponds.

DTO clarifies on gunman’s transfer
Bathinda, January 7
Clarifying on some news reports in a section of the media, the DTO, Mr Charandev Singh Mann, today said that he had recommended the transfer of his gunman after he was caught taking bribe.

Shiromani panel ‘has nothing to do with scam’
Amritsar, January 7
An SGPC spokesman in a press note today said that the Shiromani Committee had nothing to do with the purchase and supply of cement in connection with a scam in Bathinda.

House gutted
Batala, January 7
A house belonging to Rajendra Varis situated in Murgi Mohalla was gutted last night. The occupants saved themselves by jumping out of the windows. A sum of Rs 50,000, vital documents and other articles were destroyed.

Hindi play enacted
Rajpura, January 7
The Punjabi musical adaptation of the 19th century play, “Takey Ser Bhazi Takey Ser Khaza”, written by the 19th century Hindi poet Bhartendu Harishchandra was staged at Scholars Public School here
today.

3,016 cases settled at lok adalat
Ropar, January 7
About 3 lakh cases were settled in 3,928 special lok adalats held in the state since 1988 while compensation of Rs 755 crore was granted to litigants in accident claim cases.

Fast-track court for NRIs in Moga
Moga, January 7
The Punjab government will set up a special fast-track court in Moga to settle property dispute cases of NRIs of Ferozepore and Faridkot revenue divisions.

DC assures reconstruction of local bus stand
Bathinda, January 7
Residents of Rampura Phul yesterday vent their ire against the MC officials over the pathetic condition of the bus stand before the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rahul Bhandari, who visited the town to inaugurate the Suvidha Service Centre at the subdivisional complex.

Safai karamcharis to be covered under minimum wages Act
Phillaur, January 7
The Union Government has included all safai karamcharis under the Minimum Wages Act 1948. This was confirmed by Ms Santosh Chaudhary, Chairperson of the National Commission for Safari Karamcharis, while talking with The Tribune here yesterday.

Transporter booked
Barnala, January 7
The Tapa police has registered a case against a local transporter, Hardev Singh, for allegedly defrauding his friend.

4 booked in rape case
Amritsar, January 7
The Majitha police has booked four persons for allegedly raping a woman of Mallu Nangal village, falling under the Jhander police station. A case under Section 376 IPC has been registered in this regard.

4 held for selling fake lottery tickets
Barnala, January 7
The police arrested four persons involved in a fake lottery business today and recovered Rs 26,780 from them. As per the police, the accused are Ram Singh, Jeet Singh, Kulwinder Singh and Gurjinder Singh, all residents of Barnala.

Pump manufacturers for withdrawal of VAT
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 7
The Punjab Pump Manufacturers Association held a state-level meeting here today and urged the state government to exempt VAT on power-driven agricultural centrifugal pumps,
monoblocks, submersible pumps and their parts. The meeting passed a unanimous resolution in this regard and urged the government to save this industry, which is facing crisis.